Monday, December 7, 2009

The 2010 U.S. Mountain Running Team will travel to Kamnik, Slovenia, to compete in the 26th World Mountain Running Championships on September 5. A seasoned staff that collectively has more than 30 years experience in team management will accompany the team at next year’s events.

“We are pleased to announce our team staff that will be on hand to help our team members reach their goals and perform to the best of their abilities in Slovenia this September. For the first time our national team will receive financial support from our national governing body. We will work with Jim Estes and the National Office staff to develop additional funding sources with the goal of fully funding our U.S. National Team in 2010,” said USATF’s Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council Chairperson Nancy Hobbs.

Richard Bolt, Portland, OR, has been named Team Leader for the eighth consecutive year. Prior to 2003 Bolt was an athlete member of the team in 1999 and 2002. He was the third U.S. finisher at the 1999 World Trophy and at the 1999 Challenge Stellina Race in Susa, Italy. Bolt has been a top finisher in the USATF New England mountain running circuit from 1996 through 2005 as well a regular top ten finisher at the prestigious Mt. Washington Hill Climb. Bolt also competed in the 1992, 1994, and 1998 U.S. Olympic Trials and was an All-American Nordic skier. Bolt is a former member of USATF’s New England Board of Governors, and now represents Mountain Ultra Trail on the USATF Oregon long distance running committee and just received the 2008 USATF Scott Hamilton Award from the Men’s Long Distance Running Committee for his volunteer service. Bolt serves as the men’s mountain rep to the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council. “I'm very excited about joining the team staff again in 2010. With USATF at the core of the new team funding structure, we are poised to build on the medal-winning performances of the past several years,” said Bolt. richard.bolt@usmrt.comPaul Kirsch, Madison, NH, has been named Team Manager of the Junior Team taking over the reins from Dave Dunham who has worked with the team the past four years. Kirsch was named the 2009 USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Contributor of the Year. He was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Championships where one of his duties was to coordinate housing and transportation for elite athletes (more than 30 in total from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico). Kirsch serves as the USATF-NE Mountain Ultra Trail Chairperson. He provides website design and maintenance for the US Mountain Running Team website & blog (usmrt.com). “I am really pleased to be managing the junior teams in 2010. Dave Dunham has done a tremendous job in recruiting athletes and providing them support the past few years. I look forward to taking up where Dave left off so we can continue the great success the junior athletes have experienced,” said Kirsch. pkirsch@roadrunner.com

Ellen Miller, Vail, CO, will be the women’s manager for the fifth year. She is an accomplished athlete and coach with an extensive background in high altitude mountaineering. Miller has successfully summitted Mt. Everest two times. She was named Colorado Sportswoman of the Year 2002. She competed on the Fila Skyrunning Team and qualified for events in Europe and Tibet and also competed internationally as a professional adventure racer. She was the 2005 USATF Masters Marathon Trail Running Champion, is a Level 2 USATF Coach, and founded the “Mountain Divas,” a women’s sports program in Vail which she presently directs. “I am very excited and honored to be working with the U.S. Women's Mountain Running Team for the fifth consecutive year. During the past few years, our women's team has proven that we belong on the podium at the World Championships. As our qualifying races continue to attract the top female mountain runners in the USA, I have high hopes that our team will once again be World Champions,” said Miller. alpineellen@gmail.com

The Mount Washington Road Race in Gorham, NH, boasting nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain over 7.6 miles, will host the selection race for the 2010 team on June 19. The event will serve as the 2010 USA Mountain Running Championships. For results from the 2009 World Mountain Running Championships, information on the 2010 mountain running selection race, and to follow the progress of our mountain running program visit the websites listed below:

New for 2010 there will be a USATF Trail Championship Grand Prix series made up of the four sub-ultra races: 10k, Half-Marathon, 15k and Marathon. Stay tuned for info on awards and how the series scoring will work.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The 50th Anniversary of the Mount Washington Road Race will also play host to the USA Mountain Running Championships. At the just ended USATF Annual Convention, the MUT Council awarded the 2010 Mountain Running Championships to Mt. Washington. In addition, all 10 members of the 2010 Mountain Running Team will be selected at Mt. Washington. The top 6 American Men who are USATF members, and the top 4 American women who are USATF members, will be awarded spots on the mountain running team that will compete in Slovenia in September 2010.

More details about the 2010 team and prize money at Mt. Washington to follow.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Here are the rankings for the Senior squad based on percent behind the winner. This is a very interesting result for the women as all four finisher this year rank in the top five all-time. Whether this is due to a "weaker" women's winner or superior performances by the U.S. women is debatable (I think the latter to be true).

Monday, September 21, 2009

Today I've listed the all-time rankings based on percentage behind the winner. I find this an interesting number, sometimes more interesting than overall place. A deep field could knock someone well back in the finish ranking but not show how close he or she finished to the winner. Of course in contrast a "weak" or "strong" winner (whatever that might mean) could alter the results. I like the math and we also use this system to score the mountain series and the New England Trail Series. As you can see below, Brandon's % back ranks second (although he has the best place) and Megan ranks first all-time in the Junior women's category.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Today I've listed the Senior all-time rankings. The women were closely ranked with all of them falling between 6th and 16th all-time. Andrew Benford and Joe Gray both ranked in the top 15. In all 59 women and 112 men have competed for the U.S.

Welcome to the US Mountain Running Team News and Team Blog

This is the News and Weblog for the U.S Mountain Running Team. Read more to learn news about team members and how they are preparing to run at the World Mountain Running Championship in Slovenia in September 2010.